Why Carli Said Yes to the Beta

Golden State already uses Harri for scheduling and timekeeping. When Harri’s Engage360 beta program opened, trust, more than anything, is what got Golden State to the table. As Carli put it during the session:

“Anytime Harri asks us to test something, we’re like, heck yeah — because we know that nothing you bring to us is going to be detrimental to the restaurant. It’s always been very positive.”

That said, she wasn’t without reservations. Her biggest question going in was whether the automation would hold up in practice — whether Engage would genuinely lift the manual admin burden off her managers, or just add another system to babysit. Any administrative burden that Carli had been concerned about did not materialize:

“From day one, when you helped us set up our first campaign and people earned points right away… the development moving from the Harri team has been really fun to watch.”

The Results: Numbers That Moved the Needle

Once Engage’s Rewards & Recognition and Employee Voice tools were live, the impact showed up quickly and across multiple parts of the business:

• 23% reduction in turnover at participating locations compared to prior periods
• 8% fewer late clock-ins, translating directly into labor savings and smoother shift coverage
• Increased transactions, sales, and average check size, driven by targeted campaigns — including a “Fried Apple Pie Showdown” promotion that moved sales in real time
• Faster speed of service, tied to reward targets linked to OEPE performance
• 98% touchpoint response rate on employee surveys delivered at the clock, even when participation wasn’t mandatory
• One underperforming restaurant in the group went from trending at the bottom to near the top of the group within a single month, after managers used Engage data to pinpoint and fix root issues

For an operator managing dozens of locations, that last point stood out as one of the most powerful examples of what the data makes possible — not just visibility, but actionable visibility.

What Carli Wants Other Operators to Know

Throughout the conversation, Carli kept returning to one core idea: data only helps if you actually use it.

“You can’t break the system. And you can only hurt yourself by not unlocking this data, because you don’t know what’s going on. You’re not there 24/7.”

She also emphasized that the technology doesn’t replace the human element of running a great restaurant — it supports it.

“It just makes it so much easier — the systems are handled, but the people piece is woven throughout every day.”

And on recognition specifically, her advice to fellow operators was simple but pointed: don’t treat it as a checkbox.

“Recognition needs to be genuine.”

For Golden State, Engage wasn’t a standalone bet — it was the next layer on a foundation that was already working:

“Adding Engage on top of the progress we’d already seen from Harri scheduling and timekeeping just shows we made the right choice partnering with Harri.”

Looking Ahead

Golden State’s plan going forward is straightforward: keep using the data to run smarter, more targeted campaigns, keep building recognition into daily operations rather than treating it as an occasional initiative, and keep leaning on Harri as new Engage capabilities roll out.

For operators still on the fence, Carli’s message was direct — the upside is real, the risk is low, and the only way to lose is to leave the data sitting unused.

Missed the live session? Watch the full recording here to see Engage360 in action.